Republican Youth and generational change in Northern Ireland

Young, post-conflict republicans, and the radical Óige Phoblactach, may hold the key to meaningful reconciliation across Ireland.

Despite incremental progress towards an end to the violent protests over the removal of
the Union flag at Belfast City Hall, recent events have served to underline how far we have yet to travel in terms of building peace, reconciliation and a shared
society in (Northern) Ireland. Unionism is in a dangerous state of flux, and
First Minister Peter Robinson and Deputy First Minister Martin McGuinness have
failed thus far to present a united front on the issue. It seems a long time
since McGuinness, with Robinson at his side, made a symbolic gesture towards
Unionists by meeting and shaking hands with Queen Elizabeth II. Armed anti-Agreement republicans
continue to reorganise and frustrate peace efforts, posing a threat to the
devolved institutions and an acute political dilemma for Sinn Féin. Meanwhile,
though it is encouraging to see a frank and instructive debate taking place here and through
other forums, a solution to dealing with the past remains elusive.

Against this potent and particularly inopportune backdrop,
Sinn Féin has reiterated its call for a border poll on Irish unity. Party
leader Gerry Adams appeared on BBC Northern Ireland’s ‘The View’ to justify
this border poll on the basis of a questionable reading of the latest census figures. Adams coupled this with a strong indication that he will
lead Sinn Féin for the next three years at least, with the aim of building
support for a referendum on the constitutional status of Northern Ireland by
2020. Martin McGuinness has resigned his Mid-Ulster Westminster seat in a move
to end ‘dobble-jobbing’, but seems intent on seeing through his current mandate
as Deputy First Minister and retaining his position as de facto leader
of Sinn Féin in the North beyond 2015.

Question marks hang over Adams’ position in the medium term.
He continues to endure an arduous initiation to southern politics, suffering
ridicule on more than one occasion for his grasp of local and global economics.
More significantly, amidst the debates surrounding the legacy of the Troubles,
Adams has borne much of the criticism for Sinn Féin’s association with the IRA.
He regularly faces (often cynical) challenges to address his past from
government figures such as the Taoiseach Enda Kenny, and is frequently the subject of thought-provoking polemics by commentators in the conservative media. Most recently,
the sudden death of erstwhile comrade Dolours Price prompted an
uncomfortable interrogation of the claims
she made against Adams in recent years. Martin McGuinness is not without his
problems on this front. However, Sinn Féin’s role as junior partner in the
devolved administration and McGuinness’ credible performance as Deputy First
Minister have had the effect of muffling critical voices emanating from the
Democratic Unionist Party, which as a party generally distances itself from
some of the more extreme opinions of Jim Allister’s Traditional Unionist
Voice.

With twenty-nine seats in the Assembly, Sinn Féin has
cemented its position as the dominant voice of northern nationalism. The party
has also made steady progress in the South, securing a total of fourteen Dáil
Éireann seats in the 2011 election, and with these gains, enhanced speaking and
debating rights in the chamber. Most commentators agree that Sinn Féin’s
strategy involves securing a foothold in both Irish administrations, creating a
de facto all-Ireland government and building support for reunification from a
position of strength. Yet there are limits as to how far and at what pace this
strategy can proceed.

Firstly, although identity is forever becoming a more
complex and fluid notion, Northern Ireland census figures indicate that only a
quarter of the Northern Ireland population consider themselves ‘Irish only’
while 40 percent designated themselves as ‘British only’. Secondly, whatever
the rights and wrongs of the flag row, it should be patently clear that large sections of the Protestant working class are openly
hostile to Sinn Féin in its current guise. As things stand, it
would be surprising if Sinn Féin was to make significant gains in the 2015
Assembly elections. In the South, the party has continued to enjoy a general
rise in popularity, primarily at the expense of the Labour Party. Recent Sunday Business Post and Sunday Times/Behavior & Attitudes opinion polls gauge party support levels at 19 percent,
which would translate into around twenty-five Dáil seats in the event of an
election. These figures indicate that there is some political capital to be
made in exposing the government’s weaknesses on social and economic issues. Yet
there is a marked gap for Sinn Féin to bridge before it can enter the equation
as a potential coalition partner. Fine Gael’s relative stability and Fianna
Fáil’s gradual political recovery suggest that there is a core of the two
parties’ supporters who remain averse to lending their support to Sinn Féin.
The reality is that returning to the language of traditionalist republicanism
is unlikely to alter these factors in Sinn Féin’s favour.

Political succession

Though relevant in many respects, the performance of the
current Sinn Féin leadership is a secondary concern here. This author wishes to
direct the reader’s attention to the natural
process of political succession that
affects each and every movement and political party. Widely tipped to take up
the baton from Martin McGuinness in the North is the ubiquitous Gerry Kelly,
who has vast experience as an MLA, member of the Policing Board and former
junior minister. In the Dáil, Sinn Féin Vice President Mary
Lou McDonald has
demonstrated considerable acumen in holding the government to account, along
with Finance spokesman Pearse
Doherty. The youthful and articulate Donegal South-West TD continues
to make full use of his speaking rights in the Dáil, delivering forceful and
compelling critiques of the government’s economic policies. Doherty has enjoyed
a meteoric rise and established himself as one of the frontrunners for the Sinn
Féin leadership. Failing a collapse in support or a dramatic reversal in
individual political fortunes, Kelly, McDonald and Doherty – all members of the
party’s Ard Chomhairle (National Executive) – are all likely to be in a strong
position to assume the leadership when Adams and McGuinness decide or are
forced by circumstance to take a back seat.

Having joined Sinn Féin after the 1994 IRA ceasefire,
McDonald and Doherty can be described as being of ‘post-conflict’ republican
stock – much more so than Gerry Kelly, for example. Ultimately, however, it
will fall to a new cohort of leaders to take modern republicanism’s vision into
the future; to build peace, reconciliation and a shared society in (Northern)
Ireland; to create the conditions for social justice across the island; and to
unite the people of Ireland in advance of territorial unity.

A generational transition

As authors such as Kevin Bean (2007) have noted, Sinn Féin
has assumed the demeanour of a mainstream party whilst harnessing the
grievances of young working class nationalists by adopting the ideals of
radical democratic internationalism. Indeed it is in this regard that the party
has succeeded at the expense of the Social Democratic and Labour Party (Murray
and Tonge, 2005). One of Sinn Féin’s greatest strengths lies in its capacity
for mobilising the youth across the island and its willingness to catapult young
activists to the front line of political service. It is no coincidence that Kathryn
Reilly, at twenty-four years of age, is
the youngest member of the current Oireachtas and the youngest ever elected
member of the Seanad (aged just twenty-two at the time of her election in
2011).

Kathryn Reilly

Similarly, twenty-seven year old Chris
Hazzard became the youngest member of the current Assembly when he
replaced Willie Clarke as MLA for South Down in April 2012, only for his record
to be blown out of the water by twenty-year-old Megan Fearon, who
stepped into the Newry & Armagh seat vacated by Conor Murphy. Reilly holds
the important, particularly apt position of party spokesperson on EU and youth
affairs, while Hazzard has recently been elevated to the position of Sinn Féin
spokesperson on education. The party’s young representatives are too numerous
to specify, though councillors Mary Kate Quinn, Johnny McGibbon and Niall Ó
Donnghaile, former Mayor of Belfast, are all deserving of a particular mention
for their achievements to date.

Chris Hazzard

These prominent
Sinn Féin members qualify for membership of the party’s youth wing, Óige
Phoblactach (Republican Youth, formerly Ógra Shinn Féin), which
arguably holds the key to the emergence of a post-conflict generation of
republican leaders. Óige Phoblactach enjoys a semi-autonomous relationship with
Sinn Féin and is held in such high regard that it replicates party structures
and decision-making processes. It organises in local communities and
universities across the island and boasts at least 250 members – a conservative
estimate. These members elect a National Youth Committee, incorporating an
officer board of six, which essentially mirrors Sinn Féin’s Ard Chomhairle.
Finally, a Youth Fringe Event has been held at Sinn Féin Ard Fheiseanna in
recent years, which is a testament to the youth wing’s growing influence. Yet
the emergence of Óige Phoblactach as an organised, influential and numerically
significant political force seems to have bypassed political commentators and
the world of academia, which would seem to be a major oversight.

The political development of Óige Phoblactach members (aged
between fifteen and twenty-nine) and their progression into prominent party
positions ought not to catch us by surprise, nor should their values, attitudes
and ideas be drowned out by the media’s intense focus on Sinn Féin’s current
leadership. Young republicans are constrained to some extent by history,
circumstance and the choices of previous and present generations (Ruane and
Todd, 2007). Indeed there are deeply embedded cultural, religious, political
and psychological divisions, which may present obstacles to the attainment of
peace, reconciliation and social justice in the short term (MacGinty, Muldoon
and Ferguson, 2007). The old Marxist truism is apposite here: ‘Men [and women]
make their own history, but they do not make it as they please; they do not
make it under self-selected circumstances, but under circumstances existing
already, given and transmitted from the past.’ Yet the key point is that young
republicans are historical
beings, agents of historical transformation.

Few scholars have attempted to examine the impact of
political socialisation and generational change on (Northern) Ireland’s
transition, not to mention Óige Phoblactach’s potential as a vehicle for
progress towards meaningful reconciliation and social justice across the
island. It is incumbent upon us to establish whether young republicans are able
and willing to grasp the mantle, identify opportunities for transcending
historical divisions, and contribute to Sinn Féin’s political project whilst
building a shared, just and sustainable future. As the radical voice of
republican youth, Óige Phoblactach deserves closer inspection in its own right;
and posterity demands that we give serious consideration to the words and
actions of young Sinn Féin representatives.

It is unclear at this early stage how Sinn Féin’s push for
a border
poll in the next term of the Assembly and Oireachtas will play out. What is certain is that the campaign will
have a direct and profound effect on the post-conflict generation under
discussion. On 1-2 March, young Sinn Féin activists will have the opportunity
to set out their stall at the Republican Youth National Congress in Dublin.
This two-day event will facilitate debate and discussion on a number of
pertinent local and international subjects, and the border poll promises to feature high on the agenda. To merit serious consideration, young republicans must
respond in kind by demonstrating new ways of thinking about old problems. They
must communicate their ideas openly and honestly, take brave decisions in
public office and policy-making positions, and participate in the dialogue of ‘uncomfortable
conversations’. Focusing heavily on the
destination at the expense of the journey may prove to further entrench the
most rigid identities, send liberal Unionists and ambivalent nationalists
clambouring in the direction of Britain, and hinder the task of building a new
republic of ‘Catholic, Protestant and Dissenter’. In short, the current approach
could end up ‘weigh[ing] like a nightmare on the brains’ of future generations
of post-conflict republicans.

References

Bean, K (2007) The
New Politics of Sinn Féin,Liverpool:
Liverpool University Press.

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